PORT ST. LUCIE – The over/under on David Cone’s comeback, Cone’s buddies tell him, is March 10.
Maybe they’d better try Sept. 28 instead.
The crafty veteran right-hander unveiled his complete assortment of pitches in a crisp five-minute bullpen warm-up yesterday before the highly anticipated 10-minute BP session of fastballs and occasional splitters to Mets batters.
After surviving his first interaction with hitters since October 2001 on the camp’s hottest day to date, a content and upbeat Cone stopped just short of proclaiming he could win the No. 5 starter’s spot in the next five weeks.
“It remains to be seen,” said Cone, who wore a Strata golf cap and was scheduled for a mid-afternoon tee time. “It’s hard to answer that right now.
“I don’t rule it out, no, not at all.”
Cone tired at the end of the outing while working at about 75-80 percent of full capacity and perhaps reaching the low 80s in miles per hour. However, nobody handed him a cardboard box to load his locker contents when he walked back through the clubhouse door.
If Cone hasn’t yet visualized standing on the Shea Stadium first-base line on March 31 wearing a white No. 16 jersey, neither has he prepared for his retirement party.
“I’m really pleased. You know what? It’s all still there,” Cone said of his vaunted repertoire. “The question will be if I can hold up physically for five or six innings every five days. It’s more the physical part.
“All my pitches are still there, I know that.”
For somebody who didn’t pitch in 2002, Cone said he feels every bit a staff candidate as anyone else. Teammates and the coaching staff agree that Cone can become a viable major league pitcher again when his arm and legs get stronger.
Cone said it may take extended spring training after the rest of the team moves north, but at least he’s still talking about remaining employed by the Mets.
“You get David Cone in a position where he can evaluate himself, and the team can say, ‘Yeah, he can help us in this capacity,’ ” pitching coach Vern Ruhle said. “It’s a big thing of getting him in shape before you evaluate right now. It’s just about getting up to speed.”
Added Joe McEwing, who saw Cone at the beginning of the session: “He threw well. I would never put anything past him. He’s such a competitor, such a warrior. He’s getting rhythm like everybody else. Looks good.”
It all could end as early as this morning if the 40-year-old sleeps on his shoulder wrong or feels the first signs of tendinitis or injury. But there weren’t any self-characterizations as an “old warhorse” and no references to a longshot despite the few long shots Cone allowed to Roberto Alomar.
Tsuyoshi Shinjo, McEwing, Alomar, Rey Sanchez and Jose Reyes were the batters he faced. Cone did fool Alomar on a good high fastball.
He also delivered a nasty splitter that Reyes missed. Throughout, Cone bantered with teammates and Ruhle, lightly mocking himself.
“[I’m] a little bit behind but catching up,” the pitcher said. “I’m not as far behind as I thought I was.
“Certainly I made a lot of progress in one week in my own mind. Whether that continues or not remains to be seen. But I feel very good about it.
“[There’s] a little more confidence, a better perspective. I’m really enjoying this, having some fun and giving it a real legitimate shot.”